It's our first winter season out of isolation. And it's kicking us in the teeth. Between the three of us, we've been sick since Halloween and it's been rough on the littlest Hucks. We were vigilant the first 2 isolation seasons with the hand sanitizer, Clorox wipedowns and protecting the bubble. It was super hard, but it worked. I can count on one hand the number of times Tucker got sick in his first two years of life-and that is flat amazing.
I thought the magical year 3 would be great! ... View the Post

When will I stop packing a bag? I threw it together in 4 minutes. It sat in the backseat. A change of clothes, 2 sets of Tucker's pj's. His favorite books, some toys and of course, his sidekick Snoopy. I had just gotten off the phone with the pediatrician, "Yes", she'd said, "I want to see him.". My message to the triage nurse had gone something like this: "Hi, this is Tucker's mom, he sees Dr So and So. He's a former 24 weeker. He's had a cold for 5 days. It's not getting better. I listen to ... View the Post

"There are moments that mark your life. Moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is now divided into two parts, "Before this." and "After this." -Author unknown
We're 30 days and counting. Isolation is technically over on April 1st in our region. For a micro preemie, typically 2 seasons of isolation is the recommendation and so this will be the last for us. As we approach the breakout date, I find my brain and heart full of thoughts. Tucker came home from the hospital ... View the Post

Hey, you. Yep, you-reading this post. The one who forgot to put on mascara today. The one who scored yesterday a success because you remembered to brush your kid's teeth. To you, who started isolation at the beginning of October and who hasn't left the house since. You know who you are-you choose your yoga pants each day by "the black ones" or "the faded black ones". And you, who may not have kids yet but you nonetheless, find yourself in the "Ground Hog Day" rut. To you, who saved your big ... View the Post

A whole month. A whole month out of isolation. And we've taken full advantage of it. We had (and still have), after all, a lot of ground to make up. Cousins to meet. Sand to cover our toes. Parks to visit. People to thank. This is also why we haven't posted in a while-we've been O.U.T. Out in the world. Can I get an amen?
It has been fun and scary and awesome, letting him experience the world. The world where germs live. We've slowly started weaning off the Lysol. Sort of :). Instead of ... View the Post

We've got the blues. We're missing you. We're not even halfway through isolation and we've got the isolation blues. We're so happy and excited about Christmas with Tucker. We love this holiday even more with him here. I cry pretty much every night as I rock him to sleep listening to "O Holy Night". We know what a blessing we have been given and the holidays seem to underscore it even more for us. We're also, though, very aware of all the family and friends that we're missing this holiday ... View the Post

Who Is This Rookie?

I don't trust people who don't like sweets. Monica Gellar is my spirit animal. I work. I write. I mom. I pray. I wife. I eat. I go. First kid was born at 24 weeks and spent 151 days in the NICU-well that didn't go as planned. He fought and we cheered. I started writing during that time. Second kid was born on a Thursday night-her birthmom's hand in mine both of us crying happy tears. You'll find posts here about cheesecake, adoption, kindergarten shenanigans, hard stuff, Dolly Parton and whatever else I want. And you'll like it young lady. Thanks for reading. I always love adding to the team. Especially if you bring team snacks.